Red and White
by Wolf Babies
Summary: Oneshot Bella and Edward are playing a game of chess, when Bella notices similarities between the game and her life.


Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Author's Note: OH MY GOSH, this is actually a serious story. Gasp… This story explains my interpretation of the cover of Breaking Dawn…Yay!

--

Bella carefully moved her chess piece across the board, in the process knocking over nearly half of Edward's pieces. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Nice, Bella."

She frowned, but then allowed herself to laugh at the fact that she had just about destroyed the entire playing field with one stroke of her hand. "You know it was nice." She laughed.

"Not even chess pieces are immune to your infamous bad luck." He said as he began to re-stand up all the pieces Bella had carelessly knocked over.

Bella lifted his king and re-positioned it in its prior standing place. She smiled. "I guess nothing is safe."

Edward smirked while the two tried to remember where all of his pieces had been previously.

Finally, they had re-set up the game, and could begin again.

Edward looked up and down the board, searching for the perfect move. Bella was the only person he knew that actually put up a challenge for him. Not because she was a good chess player, truth be told, Bella was awful, but because he couldn't read her thoughts to reveal her plan of action.

He squinted his face as he gazed over the board. _Where to move?_ It wasn't that he was trying to find a place so that he could win the game. If he had wanted to win, he could have beaten her ten minutes ago, but he liked playing her and wanted her to believe that she was an actual challenge.

After debating what would end the game less quickly, he decided to move one of his white pawns one space.

Bella looked confused at him; didn't he realize that he could have won the game? He was playing her. He was letting her win. _Well then, two can play at that game._

It was her move, glancing above the playing field; she looked for the easiest move that would tempt him to win the game.

"Bella, come on. Please play me." Edward leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, in an attempt to intimidate her into making her real move, not the move she just decided to make because she had apparently realized he was going easy on her.

"I am playing you, Edward. That's my move. What? Is it a bad move?" She tried to act as innocent as possible, but considering her acting skills; she sounded more like a bad soap opera actress.

He rolled his eyes at her. "You are the most difficult thing I've ever met."

"Considering how many people you've met. I'm honored." She placed her hand over her heart, to show how she respected the honor.

"Bella, please." He pushed himself forward, resting his arms on the table with the chessboard on it.

"You moved your pawn," She accused. "Even though you could have clearly won."

"Do not underestimate the pawn, Bella. It has more potential than can be seen." He was lecturing her as if she were a child.

It was funny though; as he spoke his words reminded her of her own life. She had always thought herself to be like a pawn, weak and barely useful. But it seems in the chess game of her life, she was more of the board. The battleground the pieces fought over to claim victory.

"What sort of potential?" She asked, genuinely interested in the conversation.

"Well you see, if the pawn reaches the opposite side of the board." He made his move at that moment. Moving his white pawn on to the complete opposite side from him. "Then the pawn can be promoted or changed into anything except a pawn or king."

"I see. Tell me more." She placed her elbows on the table, so that her arms were perpendicular to the surface, and set her chin down on top of her fists.

"Thus the pawn can go from being quite weak to the most powerful piece in the game; the queen." He finished his turn and switched his pawn for a queen.

Bella looked at his side of the board, it was obvious to anyone who played chess or even those who didn't, that he was undoubtedly winning by a mile. _So, even though it seems the king has all the power, it's still possible for a pawn to overthrow its rule._

Almost immediately, she thought of Jacob. It was hard to believe that he had just up and left without telling anyone. The wolf pack only knew because of their telekinetic connection with him.

She missed him. That wasn't something hard to tell.

Her eyes found the game board once more; she stared at Edward's once pawn turned queen. Jake was like a pawn, he was more complex than he seemed. He had more potential than he let on. And if he wanted to, he overthrow the king.

Her king; Edward.

He was staring at her. She knew he was trying to figure out what she was thinking. Anytime she paused for a moment to herself he would stare at her until she told him what she was thinking. He found it terribly irritating at times that he couldn't just simply read her mind and be done with it. But no, someone had to closed-minded.

"Your move." He broke her train of thought.

"Right. Ummm…" She looked over her options. She was going to lose; her red king was defenseless, standing alone. His pieces were so statistically placed, someone might have truly thought he could read her mind to know her movements.

He waited, patiently as always, for her to figure out how she wanted her demise to happen, quickly or drawn out. It was only a matter of one slight move either way that would decide her fate.

Biting her lip, she realized he was just waiting to defeat her. And she was just choosing the method he would ultimately use. It was then, while looking across the board, Bella took note of what color each of them was using. She was using the red pieces. Red for blood, a sign of being human. It was a sign of being alive. And he was using white; white for stone, cold marble, the physical feeling of a vampire.

"I surrender." She raised her hands as if she was being held at gunpoint. "You're going to win anyway."

"Aww…Come on, Bella. This is the first match that has been essentially fair for me." Edward complained. "When I play with anyone else, I just read their mind and there's really no point to even play the game."

Bella laughed, he was cute when we complained. "Well the truth is, I don't want _my king_ to fall." She said as she lifted a small, red pawn from her side. It was red for blood and a pawn for Jacob. This was him in the chess game of her life. On the outside he seemed harmless, but in reality he always held the most potential.

"Your king?" He seemed to be realizing what she meant by the way she spoke her words. She was referring to him. He was her king. Strong and powerful from the very beginning, he held the all the cards needed to win the game. All he had to do was stay in it, and fight against any force that dare rebel against his authority.

Smiling, he stood from his seat. "Then I surrender too."

"Hey, I surrendered first, so technically you already won." She stood up from her chair as well.

"So, you are saying I can't surrender too?" She nodded. He laughed, placing his hands gently on her face, they chilled her, but it was an enjoyable chilling. Staring into her eyes, he spoke to her. "But I've already won the game."

Leaning forward, she allowed for his lips to touch hers. His hands left her face and crawled their way around her back, embracing her tightly. They kissed holding on to one another.

It was then Bella realized; that there could never be a checkmate, if the king's only opponent wasn't present. Thus, her king would never fall.

--

Author's Note: This was written for MikalahStarrUley's Breaking Dawn Contest.


End file.
